Position Players Pitching

Our Willians: not so good on the mound

tommy la stella comes on in the sixth

and gets the out with one pitch

backup catcher caratini is pitching now. first time the cubs have used two position players in the same game since 1907

the crowd is going wild

#Cubs (La Stella, Caratini & Happ): first team to use 3 position player pitchers in a game since the Brewers 8/29/1979 (Sal Bando, Jim Gantner & Buck Martinez)

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) July 20, 2018

i think ive read more about that Sal Bando game this month than i did in '79

if my calculations are correct, you'd have been pretty busy when that game happened

lol

https://deadspin.com/hernan-perez-plunked-a-batter-with-the-softest-pitch-yo-1827798463

if you can't dodge a 48 mph pitch you shouldn't get the base

Kristopher Negron can do it all.

(Yes, this was an out)
(No, he did not allow any runs)
(No, he did not break 55 MPH) pic.twitter.com/IrIevQupmx

— Reno Aces (@Aces) July 22, 2018

Anthony Rizzo pitched and recorded an out in a 7-1 game last night.

I know that position players pitching is kind of a trend now, but do you really want your superstar hitters doing it?

Maybe everyone wants to channel their inner Ohtani these days?

First-time pitcher Kike Hernandez yielded a game-winning HR to the Phils' Trevor Plouffe in the 16th last night.

Yeah, it's getting out of hand now. The Jays punted a game in similar fashion last year too.

I'm assuming that Roberts merely pulled the strings that the Dodgers analytics department told him to pull. So their data shows that it's better to blow a game now than pitch the next day's starter in the 16th and risk an injury (and future wins)?

probably depends on schedule/geography/roster composition as well -- dodgers have a day game today and couldn't get anyone up from the minors (in oklahoma) in time to help. and they may or may not have the ability to option players *to* the minors in exchange without further repercussions.

but yeah

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/texas-rangers/rangers/2018/07/23/carlos-tocci-ryan-rua-become-first-pair-rangers-position-players-ever-pitch-game

https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2018/7/25/17612220/joe-maddon-cubs-position-players-pitching-as-rangers-comeback

All I could think about is that beneath the fun, hip exoskeleton, Joe Maddon is a soulless actuary.

BREAKING: Grant Brisbee describes Joe Maddon as "fun, hip"

that's on the managerial curve, where Buck Showalter is the baseline

icymi, the Rays used Sergio Romo at 3b for one out in a Waxahachie Swap

re the increase in position players pitching, it seems like people are freaking out about this because it's a direct acknowledgment that a team is giving up on a game? on the other hand, if your team is losing badly, at least watching a position player try to pitch adds some entertainment value and something to root for

It was done by a manager with a big lead recently, right?

that doesn't sound like Respect for the Game

Inauspicious debut for Jose Reyes:

1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 2 HR, 6 ER, 48 pitches (29 strikes), 54.00 ERA

Makes me wonder get the record is for most pitches thrown in a game by a position player. Ouch!

typos there but hopefully the meaning comes through (new profile description)

uh, i only just now realized that we all have profiles (accessible by clicking the username), and updated accordingly.

maybe i did know that we had profiles (i must have clicked them to send ilxmail...right?), but somehow it escaped me that you could edit the information in them, or that it was a thing to look at

re the increase in position players pitching, it seems like people are freaking out about this because it's a direct acknowledgment that a team is giving up on a game?

For me it's mostly about the injury risk. If Rizzo had gotten hurt in that game he pitched, how do you justify losing your All-Star first baseman over something so stupid?

There's also the inherent ridiculousness of carrying 12 pitchers and still not having enough of them to throw some mop-up innings in a blowout.

James tweeted about this last week:

"The surge in the # of position players pitching is a signal that the 100-year trend toward more frequent pitching changes has finally reached a limit within the 25-man roster. The worst mistake that baseball could make would be to expand rosters and allow that trend to resume."

xp yeah that's why they usually make the 4th outfielder do it. though idk if I've seen a position player injure themselves on the mound yet. I'm sure it's happened I just can't remember it. pitchers batting, on the other hand...

There's also the inherent ridiculousness of carrying 12 pitchers and still not having enough of them to throw some mop-up innings in a blowout.

idk if your team is sitting at a 1% win probability I think it makes sense to save your arms if you can hobble through the last couple of innings

Ryan Goins hurt himself pitching for the Jays a couple of years ago--he didn't miss much time. Didn't Canseco famously hurt himself pitching?

Yeah, it was '93:

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-06-29/sports/1993180202_1_texas-rangers-canseco-jobe

He never played after June 23.

though idk if I've seen a position player injure themselves on the mound yet.

Jose Canseco famously blew out his arm pitching in the 90's. I think we haven't seen injuries because it used to not happen very often -- only a couple of times per season. If the current trend continues, it's only a matter of time before someone else hurts their arm or gets hit by a comebacker.

xposts

I haven't paid enough attention to these situations — do position players ever pitch when they're winning in a blowout, or is it just when they're losing?

it's possible, but i've never heard of it. apart from the fact that the winning team's pitchers, having not given up 17 runs or whatever, aren't as taxed, i'm pretty sure that would be considered a dire insult under the Unwritten Rules

Apparently hasn't happened since George Sisler in 1920, when things wuz different.

https://www.sbnation.com/2018/4/24/17274044/position-players-pitching-heck-yeah

Has Position-Player Pitching Reached Its Peak… or Nadir? Last night we had 3 more position players pitch, furthering the already existing record to 49 —with an average of more than one per day since the All-Star break https://t.co/6nVHnIUOkc

— Jay Jaffe (@jay_jaffe) August 3, 2018

Pitchers becoming hitters and coming full circle as position players pitching ... Rick Ankiel wants to make a comeback in 2019 as a reliever. He'll be 40 next year.

Matt Davidson is the first 15-HR hitter to pitch 3x in a season since Ruth

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/matt-davidson-pulls-babe-ruth-continues-be-poster-child-baseballs-position-player-pitching

may be joined by Ohtani (11 HR)

Sam Miller:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/24364647/are-position-players-actually-good-pitchers-yes-definitely-no

confusing url, slightly less but still very confusing title

i guess it's understandable that jace peterson didn't cover first on a grounder to the 1B

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dog2ngGVsAEipId.jpg:small

Pablo Sandoval: "Pitching is not easy. But it's easy for me because I don't care."

— Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) May 6, 2019

Luke Maile threw a 1-2-3 inning yesterday, with a strikeout; using a knuckleball/change-up/fastball repertoire!

Phillies' Sean Rodriguez throws a perfect 8th against the barves. (15-1 game)

roman quinn got the job done for the phillies

pirates' jose osuna comes in for the top of the 7th, down 13-4

he's pumping 90 mph